What changes to PI claims?

The Government has made swingeing changes to the way injured people can recover compensation for accidents.

From April 2013 the main changes that affect accident victims are the following:

• People will not recover the cost of what is known as ATE (After The Event) insurance policies. These are policies to protect innocent people making claims from paying the legal costs of large powerful insurance companies.
• More claims for compensation will have to be made through a computer portal. This reduces face to face contact and undermines injured people’s access to a personal service to help them with their claim.
• Reducing the fees paid to lawyers for helping injured people make their claims.

Our response to these changes

Client is king

Firstly, we want to reassure you, we will continue to represent every client to the best of our ability. Every claim is important to us at Fonseca Law and our priority is to help people who have suffered from a personal injury to claim the compensation they are entitled to.

We will continue to treat every client as a person, not as a commodity.

No win, no fee

Every case will be dealt with by a qualified lawyer who specialises in personal injury law. Our solicitors will continue to represent clients under no win no fee agreements. This means that, just like before 1^st April, we will not require any up-front payment from accident victims to help them make a claim, and if the claim is not successful we will not require payment.

If you wish to discuss free of charge advice on making a new claim, please phone us on 01495 303124 or fill in our online Personal Injury Claim Form. For an update on a claim or to ask for more information on the effects of the changes you can phone our senior lawyer, Patrick Meadows on 01495 303124 (daytime) or on 07980721285 (out of hours).

Please stay tuned as our next blog post will deal with the threatened increase to the small claims limit for accident victims.